29 replies to this topic

[pen-deco]

Anyone see the Overmax that went on eBay?

[BrianMcQueen]

Did it sell?  The plastic on the cap looked too rough for me.

[pen-deco]

Yeah, looks like it.

[david i]

For those wondering.  This one was quite nice. Sold it to California a few years ago. Kept the near-mint in my collection.

 

A scarce variant. Currently believed to exist only in Burgundy Pearl.

 

 

regards

 

d

[Rick Krantz]

these are specific to this variant, meaning you can't build one from parts, right? 

 

just curious, it seems like nothing I ever seen before, but I am not a huge time vac guy.... but my son is. 

[pen-deco]

Did it sell? The plastic on the cap looked too rough for me.

I think it looked good, picture quality was pixelated. But definitely an Omax

[piscov]

Never heard of  an Overmax, but would love to learn about it.

 

Why is this variant special? Size bigger than the Oversize or because it has the ring of a second generation Vac in a first generation pen? Or maybe something else I am not aware of??

[david i]

Hi Piscov,

The short story about The Dread Overmax (Not a Parker name for the off-catalogue variant) is that it has the shape/contour/style of a 1st Generation Vacumatic Oversize, but the cap-band of a 2nd Generation Maxima.  Despite oversize shape, it has a late date code for 1940 production. Doubt I've seen a dozen in many years collecting Vacumatics.

 

Some links to FPB discussions before:

 

My nearmint Overmax  http://fountainpenbo...-dread-overmax/

 

And its revers:  http://fountainpenbo...t-anti-overmax/

 

regards

 

d

[piscov]

Thank you David!!

[BrianMcQueen]

Here's what I saw in the cap... dreaded ribbing...

At 825 bucks, I passed.

 

[Widget]

Never seen that before. What causes it? Looks like a Waterman 100 year.

[pen-deco]

I've noticed that pens which such ribbing often have discoloration as well. 

 

Another thing that caught my eye was the threading. Does the threads look  "chopped" to you guys? 

Edited by pen-deco, 04 December 2014 - 02:05 PM.

[piscov]

The barrel threads looks to short...

[FarmBoy]

Never seen that before. What causes it? Looks like a Waterman 100 year.

The two colors of celluloid are not created equal and they do not respond to external sources of decomposition at the same rate.  Then aggressive polishing can remove more of one color than the other.  Or so I'd guess.

[Widget]

I had better be careful as I think sometimes I could be described as an aggressive polisher.

[penmanila]

i've just bought what appears to be an overmax on ebay, for what seemed to me a reasonable price--i'm sure the usual suspects here saw the same pen, but perhaps had their doubts and decided not to go down the wire withe me on this one.

 

http://www.ebay.com/...cvip=true&rt=nc

 

from the pics, externally, it does look like an overmax, but closer inspection of the pen and of what the seller (penman's antiques) says about it raises many questions:

 

1) it's stamped 1937, not 1940;

 

2) the jewels are not striped but black, as is the section;

 

3) the nib is monotone (unless the plating has worn off).

 

i thought of course that it might have been a frankenpen comprising a senior max cap and an OS barrel, but i have both senior maximas and OSes, and their caps and barrels don't interchange (as noted by rick above). this ebay pen seems to be one integral unit--so does that make it an overmax, despite the "off" points noted above? 

 

the pen's not in the best shape, but given the overmax's relative scarcity, i don't regret trying to get one for the price i paid.

 

your thoughts would be appreciated, thanks!

 

jose

[david i]

Hi Jose,

 

I keep open mind, but I see several concerning features. Do you actually have it in hand yet? Have you inspected?

 

regards

 

david

[penmanila]

thanks, david, not yet--am overseas and won't actually be holding it for another month. care to share your concerns? if not an overmax, then what could it be?

[david i]

Hi Jose,

Bunch of things. Make of them what you will.

 

• Black section and nib suggest Canadian.  Barrel imprint not explicitly cited, but I've not seen any true Overmax pens from Canada
• Black jewels suggest presence of late/swapped jewels.
• Cap contour actually looks like a Maxima cap (narrower at top than an OS cap), while the traditional Overmax is an Oversize (not Maxima) in contour, the only difference being the later style cap-band (and expected later barrel imprint ~ 1940, though barrel swaps can happen).
• Biggest concern, that football field sized barrel threading. The threads go on and on and on. In one shot they look to have two phases, wider and narrow. Recognizing I'm not a repair guy, I wonder if the threads were cut down (or even fused/repaired) to take the slightly narrower maxima cap instead of original OS cap.

This pen generates a gestalt of wrongness, at least regarding classic Overmax

 

I can offer caveat  to my critique. Late production (or late release) Canadian OS's are known that have cap that looks sort of Maxima-like, even tapering at top, but still with OS threads. They are lockdown. Imprints are bizarrely late (single "4" suggesting 1944, etc). Often with odd cap-band patterns, such as single smooth narrow-medium band. I've not seen those with usual Maxima band. This one does not look quite like those.

 

I admit to having a very bad feeling about the pen in the auction.  I"ll be happy to be proven wrong once it is examined and once you offer more shots.

 

regards

 

d

[BrianMcQueen]

I was watching that auction, and had similar reservations as David.  Note that the seller states the barrel imprint is "37" which is earlier than we know Overmaxes to exist.  And, that cap really looks like it has Maxima contours.  How well does an OS blind cap fit on a Maxima barrel?  I'll admit I've not tried it.

Edited by BrianMcQueen, 04 December 2015 - 08:31 PM.